The University of California's worst financial crisis in years has not prevented the hiring of high-salaried administrative talent or the awarding of pay raises, promotions and perks to a dozen executives, university records show.

The new appointments reflect the university's commitment to providing "management effectiveness and accountability," said UC spokesman Paul Schwartz, adding that the system also needs to provide competitive salaries and benefits to attract and retain those qualified to run a major academic institution.

Last week, for example, the governing Board of Regents appointed two executives at salaries of more than $350,000 a year and authorized paid administrative leaves to two former campus chancellors - one receiving $402,200 a year and the other $315,000.

Over the last two months, the board also granted pay increases of as much as 22.3 percent to a half dozen senior managers and approved higher salary ranges for several additional department manager positions at UCSF and at the university's headquarters in Oakland.

"We are very outraged. We confronted Chancellor Robert Birgeneau (of UC Berkeley) today about it," said Tanya Smith, the union's local president. "The chancellor responds that this is an exception, but we have seen too many exceptions. The exceptions are becoming the rule at UC, and we have had enough."

The issue is playing out against a backdrop of reduced state financial support to higher education, the likely increase of student tuition fees by nearly 10 percent this year and limiting the number of students who will be allowed to enroll.

To help offset the state's decision to slash $115.5 million from UC over two years, university officials have also eliminated scores of staff positions at the 10 campuses through attrition, buyouts and layoffs.

Officials claim to have reduced the UC Office of the President's budget by $67 million from two years ago by cutting 628 full-time employees at the Oakland headquarters, but some of these employees took jobs at other campuses. Those reductions were also accomplished with the aid of about $10 million worth of contracts paid to outside consultants.

The Board of Regents last week ratified two hires for vacant slots at the UC Office of the President.

Former investment banker Peter J. Taylor was hired as the university system's executive vice president and chief financial officer at a base salary of $400,000 a year. His perks include a relocation allowance of $64,000, reimbursement of his actual moving expenses up to $15,000, additional funds for house hunting, an $8,916-a-year automobile allowance, and eligibility to receive a low-interest mortgage loan.

The regents appointed Daniel M. Dooley as senior vice president for the university's external relations. He also continues to serve as vice president of agricultural resources and natural resources for the university system. With his promotion and double-duty, he received a $50,000 a year pay increase. His base salary for both jobs is $370,000 a year, plus an automobile allowance and eligibility to receive a low-interest mortgage loan.

The Board of Regents adopted a plan in January to freeze the salaries of UC's top administrators, saying that it would stop merit or equity increases. The regents have canceled all pending bonus payments to employees at the senior management level through 2009-2010.

But the regents left open the possibility of stipends and raises for promotions on a case-by-case basis, as well as increases to retain certain employees who receive another job offer.

Schwartz of the UC Office of the President said the pay increases and appointments should be viewed within the context of "a pay freeze for existing senior staff, restrictions on travel, and a host of other cost-cutting measures here and on every UC campus."

He also said the university is chronically underfunded.

"UC continues to take more students than the master plan calls for, despite the fact that the state is not funding these students," he said. "We're about $450 million in the hole from recent years alone.

"Where is the state in the equation?" he asked. "Where is the fact that the state is not living up to its obligation to fund higher education?"

Top officials with raises, perks

Among the top UC administrators who received pay raises and other perks:

-- John Gary Falle was appointed as associate vice president of federal government relations of the UC Office of the President. His annual salary was increased 10.4 percent from $244,500 to $270,000.

-- Dr. J. Michael Bishop, the former chancellor of UCSF, was granted a paid administrative leave (in lieu of sabbatical leave) for one year at a salary of $402,200.

-- Larry N. Vanderhoef, the former chancellor of UC Davis, was granted a paid administrative leave (in lieu of sabbatical leave) for one year at a salary of $315,000. He was provided offices on campus, an executive assistant at a base salary of $91,000 a year, and an office budget of $39,000 for the 2009-10 fiscal year.

-- Paul Staton, the chief financial officer of the UCLA Hospital System, was awarded a "pre-emptive retention" pay raise of 22.3 percent to increase his annual base salary from $310,800 to $380,000.